My Mission For You:

Monday, August 14, 2017

Empowering Women - Angelina Jolie

Before I get to the post, I want to share some news...I did my first radio talk show on Friday with author Yvonne Mason. I was nervous but ended up having a blast. You can listen to it here: Off The Chain - Chrys Fey

Angelina Jolie is far more than her looks (or her marriage/divorce
to Brad Pitt). She is a major humanitarian and has received several awards for
her efforts. She advocates for various causes including women’s rights,
education, and conservation.

She joined forces with United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and started visiting these areas to see what it was like for
the refugees. She’s completed more than 40 field missions. To help ferry aid
workers and food supplies, she got her private pilot license. In 2001, she
became the Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR. And in 2012, she became Special Envoy
to the UNHCR’s High Commissioner.

“I think we all want justice and equality, a chance for a
life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad
situation someone would help us.”

What else does she do?

- Pushes legislation to aid child immigrants

- Co-Chairs Kids in Need of Defense

- Has funded a school and boarding facility for girls at
Kakuma Refugee Camp in NW Kenya.

- Jolie Legal Fellowship, a network of lawyers and attorneys
who are sponsored to advocate the development of human rights in their
countries.

- Centre for Women, Peace and Security, which aims to
contribute to global women’s rights issues including the prosecution of war
rape and women’s engagement in politics.

Plus more!

All of this is on top of adopting three children and giving
birth to three more, acting, and directing (In the Land of Blood and Honey and Unbroken).

Unbroken:I want to talk about Unbroken for a moment. I thought she
was robbed when she wasn’t even nominated for Best Director. When I watched Unbroken,
I was amazed at the power of it, the story, and the craftsmanship. Angelina
directed a powerful movie.

I remember hearing her in an interview that she was going
through a hard time when she read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and it changed
her. Unbroken is about Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner, a Lieutenant in the
US Air Force and a POW. (Jolie and Zamperini were actually neighbors!)

Cancer Prevention:

Angelina has also spoken out for cancer prevention. In 2013, she underwent a preventative double mastectomy after
finding out she had an 87% risk of developing breast cancer. She also had an
oophorectomy (removal of ovaries) due to a 50% risk of developing ovarian
cancer.

She wrote about her decisions in The New York Times:

“On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I
feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my
femininity.”

“The Angelina Effect” started soon after as women all over
the world did the BRCA gene testing. To further help at-risk women, she
advocated for wider accessibility and lower costs. June 2013, the U.S. Supreme
Court greatly reduced the cost of the BRCA gene test.

Maleficent:Angelina’s role in Maleficent won her a Kid’s Choice Award
for Best Villain.

“I wanna say that when I was little, like Maleficent, I was
told I was different, never good at fitting in. And then I realized something,
something I hope you all realize—different is good.”

Angelina is a humanitarian, business woman, fighter, and mother. She’s a force to be
reckoned with.

INSPIRING SONG:

QUESTIONS: Have you seen Maleficent or Unbroken? Are you a fan of Angelina Jolie?

49 comments:

I read about Louis Zamperini's story in a coffeetable book about WWII vets telling their stories, but haven't seen the film about his life.

I don't think I've seen any of Ms. Jolie's films, apart from excerpts, though her film Salt was partly filmed in my former area, Albany, NY. I know I'm very odd for being so unfamiliar with all these popular actors of the modern era, and knowing far more about the ones from before 1950.

I love Angelina Jolie. She went from "wild child" to humanitarian--a huge turnaround. I admire all she does. I've seen Maleficent and Unbroken, along with most of her other movies. I say "most" because I'm not sure if I've missed any of them. I thought Unbroken was great. She'll have a new film that she directed premiering on Netflix this month: First, They Killed My Father. The Cambodian woman who wrote the book (of the same title) on which the movie is based spoke at my daughter's high school in about 2002. Then my daughter had the honor of interviewing her for the school newspaper. I'm excited about the movie, although the story of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia is a tragic one.

I had no idea about her new film. I don't have Netflix, though, so I'll have to find another way to watch it. I sure like how she takes on such serious and difficult concepts/stories for the movies she directs. That speaks to her level of passion.

Excellent choice and I do admire Jolie even though I am not sure I would want to be married to her. I have a feeling it's her way or the highway and it would take a strong man to let her be free, be happy in the background but not be her doormat as she would not respect that even though I think, she tests that. I have seen her in both films. I enjoyed Malificient and thought it was better than I thought it would be. She was not so much a villain as hurt and angry. As for Unbroken.....superb film and one tha should have gotten her nominated for an Oscar. It's funny that she created a great film about a man who was religious and wndur d great suffering during WW2, was well written, acted and directed and did not get the same accolades as the Mel Gibson film, Hacksaw Ridge that also was well written, acted and directed. How sad...not that the films were not great nor the real people thatthe films were about but that a man who is anti Semitic, dislikes women and has other major hangups was lauded and accepted back into Hollywood with Oscar noms but Jolie, a well respected advocate for many charities, has gone into war torn countries, inspires and is also an excellent actress hardly got recognized for her film.

I don't like to speculate over what it would be like to be in a relationship with her, or Brad. No one could ever know what it's really like, how theory really are, or what really happened. He doesn't have a very good track record with his relationships, and I do feel she's getting most of the blame.

I saw Unbroken. It was excruciating. Not saying it was bad, but it was hard to watch to the end. There's no question that she is a talented actress and director. Also, her humanitarian efforts are exceptional. Good choice today, Chrys.

I haven't seen the movies you mentioned in this post, but I do love Angelina Jolie. She has done some amazing things with her fame. I think she really caught my attention in the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I'm disappointed to hear about the divorce of her and Brad Pitt, but I'm sure they know what they need to do more than I do.

Hi Chrys - I think Angelina is a great advocate for women in general ... I didn't know about the film - and it's not one I would watch - but I find it interesting to see the kind of work people like Angelina take on. Her work with refugees is also inspirational - she sets a leadership standard for us to note ... and as she says she makes decisions re her potential cancers ... cheers Hilary